The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 07/01/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: July 1, 2021

Colin's happy for Chris Paul finally getting the recognition he deserves after reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. He thinks the Clippers need to accept their reality and limitations after building the team around Kawhi Leonard who regularly misses games. He takes a look into the future of college sports as players are now able to get paid for their name, image and likeness. Plus, World Series Champion and Dodgers 3B Justin Turner joins the show to talk about his All-Star caliber season and the difficulties of being the reigning champs. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild.

I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the best of herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. It is great to have you in live from Los Angeles on a Thursday.

It's the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Well, this is a good day for me. I'm not going to be, not going to lie here. This is a good day for me. I like Chris Paul. I think the sons are a great story.

I'm happy for Chris Paul. Underappreciated. Joy Taylor is joining me this morning. This is a day I am happy. I'm not supposed to root necessarily, and I don't really for teams, but there are people that I like, people that I root for,

and Chris Paul is one of those people. So I'm happy today. I thought it was a great scene last night. I watched the game among the, young star people at a sports bar. Yeah. It was actually like almost a Clippers bar. A lot of Clippers fans in there.

Watching a game in a sports bar when you have like the local teams fans there, you get to ride like the waves. Yes. It's always very interesting. But it was, I'm really happy for Chris Ball. Yeah. Let's start with this. It's hard for all of us to get your life to all come together at once.

I remember when I got out of college, I didn't have any money, and you finally get all your bills paid and your car breaks down. They're like, oh, I don't have $600. Then you get the $600 for your car and something else breaks. It's hard. And then you get older and it's like, okay, you finally get a boss you like, the marriage is going great. And when your kids gets in trouble, you got to bail them out of son. It's hard to get your life to come together. I was thinking about Samuel L. Jackson, the great actor. He was acting in the 70s. But then he got Pulp Fiction and he, and he's, and he he got a red hot director and a perfect co-star and an amazing script and they got real money and it all came together the critics loved it you loved it i loved it the box office was great it's

an all-time top 20 film it all came together for they've been acting since the seven it's hard for it's all come together 16 years in the NBA tunnel and last night Chris paul finally it all came together. Think about the clippers. He goes to the clippers and he carried him. Yet it was Blake Griffin who still can't shoot. Blake Griffin, little. He could shoot a little. That everybody loved Blake Griffin. He was flashy. He was jumping over cars and slam dunk contests. Everybody loved Blake. His Blake's team. DeAndre Jordan was always chirping at Chris Paul. Yet his entire offensive NBA career comes down to lobs from Chris Paul. But he was always chirping. DeAndre Jordan was chirping. And they had the

the worst owner, and they were embarrassingly cheap. Same town as the Lakers. Never got the respect. The Clippers never had a 50 win season, ever. Chris Paul arrived. They had five straight. And yet every time they lost, he got blamed. He was like an A-plus actor who signed up for a low-budget film.

And because the low-budget film didn't win the Oscar, it's Chris Paul's fault. No, the only reason you watched the film. was Chris Paul. That's the only reason you pay any damn attention to the low-budget film was Chris Paul. But every time the Clippers lost, well, you didn't win the Oscar. He didn't win the title. Donald Sterling owned the team. You think you're going to win titles?

That's why Phoenix is great. They were desperate. They needed direction. And they're like, Chris Paul. That's exactly what we need. He comes and they deliver. Phoenix had the worst record in the NBA for nine years. here comes Chris Paul, they're in the finals.

And I've got to tell you something, feeling underappreciated is a very powerful thing for men and women, boys and girls, young and old, black, white, Republicans, liberals. It's very powerful to feel underappreciated. It's why Tom Brady left New England. It was not the money. We talked too much about money. That's why Aaron Rogers is pissed at Green Bay.

Not the money. It's why Russell Wilson went public in Seattle. It was not the money. It was, come on, man, I'm carrying the load here. Give me some help. Can I have a say? But at least with Aaron Rogers, at least with Russell Wilson, at least with Tom Brady. Their value is understood.

We understand their value. But Chris Paul had the double whammy. Not only was he underappreciated. He doesn't even get nominated for MVP's. We don't even understand his value. I mean, even Clipper fans, poor Clipper fans didn't, you know, they'd lost so many games, they'd won so infrequently. They didn't even understand that Chris Paul was the key to the franchise. For years, they thought it was Blake Griffin.

Everybody's, oh, Blake Griffin can jump over a Kia. That's the guy. He could not shoot when he was a Clipper. Can shoot a little bit now. And so last night for Chris Paul, this season for Chris Paul, he finally got the director and the script and the co-star and the budget and the critical acclaim and the box office, finally after all these years. He got a coach who had him before and gets him.

He's got two dependable wings. I love Jay Crowder. Even on bad nights, I love Jay Crowder. He's got a true shooting guard, so when he passes, he gets credit for the assist. He's got a guy at the rim in DeAndre Aiton who loves lobs, and God, there's nobody better than delivering those than Chris Paul. It is hard in life for young people. You're out of college.

You got no money. You're scraping by. You finally get the bills pay. You finally get the refrigerator full. And your damn car breaks down. And it's a $647 bill. And mom and dad, they don't have it either. I appreciate because I know how hard it is.

You ask anybody in the entertainment field to get it all together. You got the receivers, but the old line stinks. You got the running game, but you got no perimeter speed. That was Brady and New England. To bring it all together, even the special teams are good and the coach is good. That's Chris Paul last night. 16 years, the coach, the wings, the two guard, the big, the fan base. All finally 16 years came together and here was Chris after.

I'm just so happy for all the people around me. You know what I mean? and to do it here in L.A. with the Clippers. This is my family, too. I gave six hard years to the Clippers. We fought hard. A lot of these fans, Billy Crystal, that's my family. You know what I mean?

You know what I mean? So to do it here against a team that I got the utmost respect for, I'll always be a clipper. I love these fans. Good for CP3. Great night. Great night for sports. Great sports moment.

Let's talk about somebody who didn't play last night, Kauai Leonard because after the game, Paul George, to his credit, always goes to the mic, win or lose. Paul's always there, win or lose, great game, bad game. He's always there, deserves credit. But he did say after the game, if Kauai Leonard was here,

well, it would be a different series. Yeah, but Kauai Leonard is never consistently there. Let's be honest about Kauai Leonard. It's like when you go to a theme park. God, theme parks would be great if you didn't have to wait in line. But you always do. So you got to bake that in, right? At the end of a seven-hour day at a theme park, you're on rides for about 28 minutes.

You're eating for an hour and you're in line for five hours and 45 minutes. There is no theme park without lines unless you're like from Dubai and own a country or something. The rest of us have to wait in lines. You bake that in. and you bake in, Kauai Leonard is not always there. The last time Kauai Leonard was physically reliable, was 2016, 2017.

And oh, by the way, he got hurt at the end of that year, too. The Spurs, knowing how great he was, the winning Spurs said, we're just done with it. We're just over it. Now, the Clippers historically are a losing franchise. Better in the last 10 years, but a losing franchise. So they're just going to hold on to him, and they should.

but I mean the spurs literally just said we're exhausted and as long as kawai is your centerpiece you're not going to communicate well you'll probably struggle at the end of games because that's when communication's key and you're not always sure he's available and by the way lots of stars bring a little bit of a i don't know if it's baggage but a lot of stars have issues i mean kevin durant can be a little a little erin rogers he can be a little prickly lebron is very controlling. No coach is safe. Chris Paul can be demanding. Outspoken, go right after your stars.

Kauai Leonard? Not really sure if Kauai wants to play tonight or Kauai is healthy. And that is part of who Kauai Leonard is. But you can't give me the if Kauai was here. Listen, if Kauai was healthy, the Clippers would have been a number one seed last year, a number one seed this year. But he's not. in the two years with Kauai Leonard as the center piece of the team.

He's not the icing now. He's the cake. In two years, you've had two disappointing regular seasons, bumpy, one disaster in the playoffs, and whatever this year was in the playoffs, right? It feels a little hollow because when Kauai misses all those regular season games, the payoff is he'll be ready for the playoffs. Like, that's why you allow it. right? Like, okay, he's going to miss some regular season games, but it is. So he is fresh as a

daisy in the postseason. But when you miss the 20, you're not available here, it's hollow and it's exhausting. So two years, again, with Kauai as a centerpiece, two disappointing regular seasons, one disaster in the playoffs, and whatever you label this as, if Kauai was healthy, if I was six, I would have played college basketball at a really good school. I'm not. And if you could go to a theme park and there would be no lines in August, it would be so enjoyable. But instead, you're sweating your arse off, sitting in line for 45 minutes, for a minute nine of absolute gut-wrenching thrill.

This is what the clippers are going to be. Hard to figure out a riddle wrapped in an enigma. if Kauai's your guy, if he's the cake, this is what it is. You're never quite sure what you get week to week and season to season. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard radio app. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day but just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack

so I'm starting to see there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now so Thank you finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people

Really? Yeah for me it's one of the most important years for black people in American history Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts

or wherever you get your podcast Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. You don't always have to win a series to be appreciated. And KD., Kevin Durant and PG, Paul George, have a lot of similarities in this postseason.

First, KD. and PG, their initials are their nickname. They both bailed on Westbrook. They're both perennial all-stars. And they both chose the number two team in their city, the Brooklyn Nets and the L.A. Clippers. Both teamed up with an erratic, unpredictable, brilliant but injury-prone co-star, Kyrie Irving for KD, K. K.D., K.I. Leonard for Paul George. And both had heroic game five performances in the series they eventually lost.

They just ran out of gas. They both ran out of gas. I thought Paul, George looked a little tired last night. Didn't have a terrible night, just didn't play as well as he did in his heroic game five. KD. Paul George, go look at their stats. Once the star, the co-star got hurt. They're playing 43, 44.

minutes, 35 and 10 and 30 and 10, KD and PG. The difference, though, is this, and this is the separator, is that Kevin Durant chose Kyrie over a great situation. Paul George chose Kauai, because he's never had the ideal situation. That's the difference. Kevin Durant left championships. He left stability. He left a great coach and a great co-star and a great roster. and a great GM. Kevin Durant left great. And as I often say, be very careful about trying to get happier than happy. Paul George has never had an ideal situation.

LA Kid goes to the Pacers. They don't attract stars. They could never really get the roster to compete. And then he decides to go to, there's Oklahoma City, and there's a trade. And then he gets Westbrook, and Westbrook's hard to play with. And that doesn't work. KD would tell you that. And then he goes to the Clippers and,

gets Kauai. And by the way, it's still a great fit. I do think Kauai and Paul George, I think it works as long as you understand that Kauai is highly unpredictable, non-communicative, very low verbal, and gets hurt a lot. But that's where they separate and that's where I've got a little sympathy for Paul George. It's very hard in professional sports. The harder you work in college, the worst business you go to. For the rest of us, that's not the way it is. We generally have at least a couple of choices out of college if we've worked really hard and come out with a great GPA, good connections, great internship. You may get a couple of offers. It's not the way it works for basketball players. The greater you are, the lousier GM, often the lousier roster,

coach, owner, it's all bad. And Paul George, not that the Pacers were lousy, has never really had an ideal fit. And he's seeking that. And he's moving to find that. That's why I always defend players on mobility. Katie had it and left. Paul talks about the Clippers, the series, and the season. The narrative of me not being a postseason player or all of that is I never understood it. I came up short again. I'm proud of what we did as a team. I wasn't out to prove nothing to nobody, but to show up as a leader for his team and put us in position to get to where we got to.

again, came up short. My good wasn't enough. But there's room for improvement. By the way, I will say this. If Kauai was healthy, we've discussed that he's often not, I do think the Clippers have a deeper roster than Phoenix. I love the Phoenix starting five, and I love how they're constructed. I think the Clippers have the deepest, most talented roster in the NBA.

I really do. And I think Dallas figured that out in game seven. It takes them a while to figure stuff out because they got so many dudes that can play. But no excuses. It's over. Phoenix deserved the win. There's no question about that.

But we also have to acknowledge this is a really good clip for team. This is a really deep, deep roster. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game? You ask?

Along with my fellow pro bowler, T.J. Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushman Zada and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

bro. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Cliverts Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford

and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode

where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years. from black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we're, We don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you

hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. I've thought about this for years. So in college sports, let's just talk college football, because that's what drives all the revenue in college sports. College basketball is fine, but college football drives all the revenue. College football pays in 95% of college athletic programs, college football pays all the bill, everything else loses money except men's and women's

basketball and the South baseball makes some money, but mostly everything loses money. In college football, the South has an advantage. They have more great high school football players. Like they care about it, they spend money on it, the coaches make $100,000. When you get about Houston East, that's where all the great players are, the great programs, and they're just more good players. And most kids want to stay close to home. I totally get that.

So the South has always had great players, but then once they got great commissioners and kind of synchronized it. They're really a powerhouse. But the West, now with the ability to pay athletes, has all the money. YouTube, California, Google, California, Apple, California, Facebook, California. There's a reason the state of California, in a pandemic, had a $75 billion dollar surplus. Netflix, that's ours too. Zoom. That's ours too. Docu sign. Yep, California. Why doesn't the PAC 12 commissioner,

knowing that he's got a player disadvantage? I mean, California funds the whole, you know, Denver West, they all get their players in California, right? And we got pro sports here. People are distracted. Kids play lacrosse. They play baseball. A lot of things to do in California. Surf, skateboard. Like in the South, you play football if you're an athlete. That's what you do. do. Here, there's a bunch of stuff to do. So the PAC 12, if I was the PAC 12 commissioner, I would have meetings with Google. And these companies have $10 billion hours on the stock market. There have been days that Silicon Valley makes a trillion dollars in a 24-hour period. In fact, in like a 12-hour trading period, I would go if I was a PAC 12 commissioner, to Google,

to Facebook, to Apple, to Yahoo. And I'd say, you have PAC 12 students all over your companies. You don't have a lot of Big 12 students. You don't have a lot of ACC students. You don't have a lot of SEC students. You got PAC 12 graduates all over YouTube, all over Google, all over Apple, all over Facebook. By the way, Nike, all over Nike up in Beaverton, Oregon. Do us a solid. Let's get this name, image, likeness thing going.

And then we can go get the best players in the country. I mean, what's Alabama going to do? Well, we've got a car dealership over here. We've got piggily wiggly. We got a grocery store chain. Yeah, we got Apple. Like the PAC 12 should literally go to Silicon Valley and just say, your companies have all these PAC 12 Stanford, Cal, Washington, USC, UCLA graduates.

Do you want college sports the matter out here? Let's create something. I mean, gosh, name image likeness. That's what Google does. That's what YouTube does. That's what Facebook does. I mean, to me, that's the great equalizer. Because the South's got more good players, more good programs, more passion.

They care more about it. And they deserve to win all the games, right? Like they, to me in life, if you care about something, I root for you, I like that the SEC dominates because it matters more to them. I used to cover the SEC. I covered the Florida Gators in Florida State. They literally get in their Winnebagoes on Wednesday morning, cocktail. They arrive in Gainesville Wednesday night, and they stay there until Sunday morning. I mean, that's how they live.

That's awesome. When people care about something that much, I root for them. like Phoenix. The Suns really want to win. They've been bad forever. They finally have it all together. It's easy to root for the Suns. It's not always easy to root for the Yankees, you know, the Lakers. It was easy to root for the Suns. I mean, Yankee fans, the minute they lose a going a four-game losing streak, they're always like, oh, we got to pay $8 billion for a short. We're not good enough. The answer for Yankee fans is always, we didn't pay enough for this star. Oh, be quiet. You spend more than everybody except the Dodgers in baseball. So, anyway, I just, that's my takeaway on this name image-likeness stuff.

I grew up with a PAC 12, but we don't have the athletes outside of California, most of these states, Washington, Wyoming, Oregon, Utah, Phoenix. You know, they got 8, 9, 10, Division 1 studs, but California's got like 240. I mean, you haven't even mentioned Hollywood. Boom. I mean, USC is not in Silicon Valley. The film school at USC. The film, I think UCLA is a film school, too. I mean, it's like, this is built for the PAC 12 to put a stake into it and go, we can now compete.

And again, before everyone starts panicking, some kids are still going to want to play in the SEC and still play in the South. Of course. They're still going to want to go to certain programs because they have certain coaches and certain schemes. And they, by the way, their parents are closed. They can go to all the games. I'm not saying everybody's going to leave, but I'm saying for the elite. But that's what everyone pushes back. I'm like, well, now, now it's going to be an advantage.

The California, you don't get enough. But I don't know. I just, listen, I'm a Pact 12 guy. No, it makes, it makes perfect sense. And it does, some things do tilt advantage to other places and other things. Yeah. Changes mean something. But it's not going to be anything, everything in all.

And that's what the reaction to this is. Like, okay, now college sports is going to be pro sports. No, it's not. Now all the kids are only going to go to the big schools. No, they're not. Oh, it's only going to benefit the top athletes. No, it's not. everything is not all.

Like, just relax a little bit. It's going to be clunky at first. And maybe it will benefit the PAC 12. Maybe everything you're saying will come to pass. And guess what? Won't that be good for the sport? Because isn't all we ever hear about is parody? By the way, wasn't college football better when UCLA, or excuse me, when USC and Miami hurricanes,

big city teams had swag and attitude? Now you have a bigger playoff so you can spread the talent around more. So when we do have more teams in the playoffs, it's not going to be three blowouts before we get to the championship. Just have a little vision, guys. College athletes are going to get paid. As they should. One more herd. The herd

streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Justin Turner's been paid. He should be. He basically holds every Dodger postseason. Home runs, hits, RBI's runs. He holds all of them.

All-Star voting ends in 50 minutes. He's an inch behind Nolan Aeronado. Go vote for Justin Turner. He's 36, by the way. Old Guy All-Star has a nice ring to it. Let's bring Justin Turner in live. They start, Dodgers, by the way, start a four-game series here with the Nats tonight. By the way, at 36 years old, I see a lot of red and not a lot of gray in that beard.

Let's be honest, though. 36-year-old All-Star, Justin, that'd be pretty cool, right? Like, that would be something when your career's over. That would be way up top, right? Like that kind of honor? Yeah, absolutely. And the way I've kind of been looking about at it is, you know, MLB loves to promote the young guys and there's a lot of exciting young guys in the game right now. But at some point in their career, especially these guys that are signing these 12, 13, 14-year deals,

you know, they're going to be 36-year-olds as well and want to be all-stars too. So I might as well be the first one to get the ball rolling. Me and Yadi, and there's a couple other guys, Buster Posey, who are on the back end trying to represent for the old guys. You know, it's interesting. You're having another great year. There's no surprise with that. Right now you'll lead the Dodgers and hits, batting average RBI's total bases. What's fascinating, though, is you're the most talented team in baseball, but the Giants lead. And if you looked at the Giants roster and the Dodgers roster, you'd almost take a Dodger at every position, and here are the Giants, and that's what makes baseball crazy. Guys are playing over their skis.

The Dodgers season's been interesting. Bellinger's hurt, and then Mokies hurt, and then guys come back, is even though you're playing well now, since the no-hitter, you guys are playing well, it feels like it's been a little bit of an odd season where it can't, it's not like sinking, up at the perfect time. Does it now, does it now feel like it's sinking up? It's getting close. You know, we've been carried all season long by our starting pitching and our bullpen's been really good for us. The offense has kind of been in and out, hit and miss. Like you said, we've had belly down, Seeger down, Muncie missed a couple weeks. So

I think we've only played three games with our actual opening day starting lineup. But that's the case for everyone around the league, right? There's injuries. is going on all over the place. And I think you said it best. The beauty of baseball is on paper, one team can look way better than another, but that doesn't matter. You still have to go on the field.

You still have to compete. You still have to do it in between the lines. And honestly, for baseball, the Giants and the Dodgers being at the top of the division and the top of the National League is great because that's the ultimate rivalry, right? You know what's interesting with you? You're just a hitter. So you're hitting 285.

that leads all third baseman. You lead it in war. You lead it in batty average. And we've had this tack situation where it's pretty understood. Everybody knows it. You know, it used to be weightlifters and baseball pitchers are always looking for grip. They use the tack. It spins.

And I read a story about a month ago where it was like, pitchers, batters were saying, I can hear. I can hear the ball snapping. And I'm thinking, well, you're still hitting 290. So, you know, who the hell cares? So you're fine. But when it was happening and maybe. Major League Baseball's average dip to like 237.

Why were you still hitting? I mean, you obviously, Justin, have been in this game long enough. You heard the rumors, you saw the stuff, but you still maintained your average. You didn't let it get into your head. Was there a reason why you maintained your average, and a lot of guys didn't? You know, I'm not sure. I think ultimately, like you said, I'm a hitter over a slugger. Obviously, enjoy extra base hits and home runs as much as the next guy.

But once I get to two strikes, you know, it turns into, you know, survivor mode, battling, scrapping, finding ways to move the ball forward, put the ball in play, and just finding holes. And also, you know, I'm a guy that understands when I don't have my ace wing, I don't have my best swing. I'm not going to go out there and try to hit home runs and hit doubles because I know I'm not feeling my best, so I'm just going to go and try to grind out on that bat and hit the ball the other way, move a runner, do something to help the team win. And I think that has benefited me a lot this year.

You know, it's interesting. You and Kershaw, you're kind of the, like the soul of the team, right? Like, and you're older dudes. And then the Dodgers, though, bring up a lot of young guys. When you go on a road trip, I mean, you and Kershaw look like to me you'd listen to classic rock and roll. Like is Kershaw, do you ever look at Kershaw sometimes and be like, sometimes we're the parents here. There's so many young, great players with the Dodgers. It is different.

You're closer to 40 than 30. Yeah, yeah. You know, especially this year, we've had a lot of young guys come up with the injuries and a lot of guys trying to step in and fill roles. So there's been a lot of stuff going on. And, you know, one thing that's really helped us is another old guy who, recently joined us, Albert Poolehol, who has been huge for us in the locker room and talking to guys and helping guys out. So it's fun. It's fun to be on this side of my career and be

able to have conversations with young guys and try to help them along and see them develop and go through their process every day of getting better. Obviously, the talent in our game, especially for the younger guys is off the charts. And we're just here to try to keep them on track and keep them moving in the right direction and hopefully help them see their full potential because there are a lot of dynamic young players in this game who are going to carry us for a while.

By the way, you're starting a four-game series with the Nats tonight. And again, you can do all-star voting. He's right behind Nolan Aeronado. Go to MLB.com slash vote. Last minute votes in. We got nothing against Nolan, by the way, but, you know, we're in Los Angeles, so Justin's a good get for us. When you sort of look, you guys are now World Series champs. And I remember reading this story years and years ago about, you know, when Muhammad Ali was a champ, he got everybody's best fight.

You know, everybody's best fight. Peyton Manning got every defensive coordinator's best effort. That's when you slept on the couch in the office as a defensive coordinator. You're World Series champs. Have you noticed, Justin, when you're a World Series champ, the crowds are a little bigger, the taunts are a little louder, and it is different. It is just as hard defending that as it is attaining that. Yeah, 100%. I think that when you win a World Championship, it comes with a target on your back, especially the season immediately following.

But at the same time, I feel like, you know, my eight years here with the Dodgers, winning the division seven years in a row, being into the World Series three the last four years, I feel like we kind of constantly have a target on our back. It doesn't matter. The only difference is last year we actually won the last game of the year

where in the years past, we felt a little short. So I think it's something we're used to. We're used to the fans, you know, wanting it a little more against us. And obviously, players and teams kind of lining up their pitching to have their best guys go against us, and we just kind of embrace it. By the way, you're in some fancy, boozy hotel in D.C. I can see right now. It looks very, very nice.

By the way, I don't know if you're aware of this. It gets hot in D.C. in the summer. It's like playing inside of a sock. It's going to be so brutal there the weather this weekend. Yeah, it's supposed to rain tonight. So I've had my windows open in my room, and it's bright and sunny right now. so I don't know what these forecasters are talking about, but it's supposed to rain today and tomorrow, which is a recipe for extreme humidity and miserableness on the field. So we're looking forward to that one. I've got about 12 bottles of water over here

that I'm getting printed to drink and hydrate up before we go on a series. All right, MLB.com slash vote. Last minute votes in. Justin Turner, what a treat. 13 years in the Biggs and All-Star World Series champ. Right now leading the Dodgers in every category that matters. In a year, nobody can hit. He can still hit.

Great seeing you, Justin. Thanks again, man. Thanks, Colin. I appreciate you having me on. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Chris Paul last night, getting the sons to the finals makes him one of the five greatest point guards ever. Magic, Oscar Robertson, Steph, Isaiah, Chris Paul.

I did not see Oscar Robertson play. He and Sandy Kofax, I've seen brief images. of. They're all very unique. I think one of the things I've always compared the point guard to the quarterback. More is expected of you. You have to make, you have to have a high IQ and a high EQ to be all-time great. Magic was his sheer size, six, eight and a half, the great distributor. Oscar could give you everything, triple doubles. Steph's the great shooter and score. Isaiah and Chris Paul were feisty and demanding and tough and could drop 30 like last night, but could give you 15 assists.

turn the ball over much. You can do it a lot of different ways. But it is interesting. When Russell Westbrook said, my best friend's the ball, boy, that's an advertisement for you. Don't get it. Your best friend can't be the ball. Your best friend has to be Clay Thompson if you're Steph or Kareem and James Worthy if you're magic. You have to have an incredibly high EQ, not just IQ, EQ, to be a quarterback or a point guard. Let's say you're a wide receiver. We'll just go run a route. You have to know your route tree, right? Like the play. But a quarterback has to read the defense. And then the offensive line audibles, you know, their protection. Then the quarterback's got to look over the defense and who's blitzing. And then when the plays happen, things are happening and people are

moving at the snap. And then you've got it. Okay, that wide receiver got jammed. You are in control of the entire offense every second of it. You're distributing. You're running. You're scoring. You're elevating. And that's the point guard. And that's why you can do it a lot of different ways. Patrick Mahomes doesn't play it like Kyler Murray, doesn't play it like Eli Manning did or Philip Rivers or Drew B's. There's a lot of different ways to be a point guard. You can be the score. You can be the distributor.

But all of them, the great quarterbacks have self-awareness. The great point guards have self-awareness. Steph Curry's got to make sure Clay Thompson's getting his touches. And Kevin Durant was getting his touches. And Magic had to make sure that Kareem, he was here before Magic. Kareem gets his touches. James Worthy and Byron Scott get their touches. You're doing some psychology.

You're doing some babysitting. I mean, Chris Paul, I got to get Devin Booker 20 shots. He's one of the best young players in the league. I got to make sure DeAndre Aiton, for all his hard work on the defensive end, is getting some love on the offensive end because he's doing a lot of the dirty work. So you want to make sure DeAndre Aiton, who's got to be playing against these seven-foot guys leaning on him. That's a hard physical position. You've got to make sure he gets some lobs, some freebies, and some dunks.

You are constantly having to evaluate, cognitively re-evaluate the moment, the time, the game. There's a lot of guys I've watched Stevie Francis and Marbury, who are just incredible talents. But I never felt they understood that you can't live in a tunnel being a point guard or a quarterback. You can't just head down and go. You can do that with a lot of positions in football and basketball. If you're a wing and you score and Ray Allen at the end of his career, hit jumpers. That's all we're asking. Go hit jumpers.

Nothing wrong with that. That was his role. But it's a highly demanding position. And I think Chris Paul does it. I mean, you know, some of the things we talk about, I don't think Scotty Pippen had a great self-awareness writing that book against Michael Jordan. He wrote that book because of Michael Jordan's 10-part documentary, which didn't make Pippin always look great. Didn't make Pippin look bad. But it told a story of Scottie Pippin. So Scotty writes a vindictive book on Michael Jordan's documentary and just gets crushed. kind of lack self-awareness. I always said, Westbrook's talented,

lacked a little self-awareness sometimes about his teammates, and they, you know, sometimes you've got to let them control the game too. So I think Chris Paul does it. You know, Tom Brady's first commercial, when he was a patriot, he wouldn't do it unless Visa put all the offensive linemen in the commercial with him. Baker Mayfield's first commercials, all 12, all about Baker. Little, just little stuff, just kind of be aware. Be aware you're already the quarterback.

You're the star. getting the love, you get all the credit. I want to spread that. You don't want to rip the medical staff. Don't want to Rick Duke Johnson, the third string running back when he talks about touches. We ask a lot of quarterbacks and point guards, and I'm tough on them. I am tough on Westbrook. I've been tough on Baker and Jay Cutlers, and we demand more, we ask more. And frankly, you need more.

You got to do more. I'm going to be tougher on point guards. I'm going to be tougher on quarterbacks. It's harder. You control the tempo, the clemen. clock who gets the shots and you've got to be a balancing game constantly i mean if you're chris paul devon's your best offensive player but dionre aton's got to guard bigs he's got bigs leaning on so you got to make sure dionre ait and get some freebies you got to make sure some of his points are

easy because he's doing all the dirty work in the trenches that's something you have to be aware of all the time and i think chris paul's brilliant at it so i don't know if these are the best five point guards of all time. John Stockton was pretty good, but he wasn't the score. That's a pretty good list by Nick Wright. Magic Oscar, Steph, Isaiah, Chris Paul. But it is cool. They all do something different. Steph's the score. Magic distributor. Oscar triple doubles. Isaiah and Chris Paul to me are very similar. You could get 28 a night. You could get 28 from them. You can get 12 assists. They're both feisty. I mean, Isaiah Thomas and College push back on Bobby Knight. Chris Paul, push back on Doc Rivers. They're Isaiah and Chris

Paul are feisty, demanding, tough, smart, not for everybody. Whereas Steph Curry's for everybody. Magic's for everybody. Everybody likes Steph Curry. And not everybody like Isaiah Thomas. Not everybody likes Chris Paul. But there's a lot of different ways to do it and they do it great. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m.

Patrick Beverly. Let's talk about that. So there is something about sports. I don't know why it's basketball so much. Maybe it's because in basketball, I'm touching you all the time. Like Brady's not really coming in contact with the guys that are defending him. And not touching him much, right? And in baseball, I'm on the mound.

You're at the plate. There is something about basketball and the proximity. I'm touching you. I'm next to your ears. I'm looking you in the eye. I'm sweating on you. It really becomes. psychological in basketball. I'm right on top of you. We're banging, we're rubbing, we're

exchanging sweat, and there, it becomes very, you know, like it's uncomfortably close sometimes. And there's a lot of chatter and you see guys are talkers and Gary Payton and Michael or John each other. You don't get a lot of that in football and baseball. In hockey, you're on the line really quick. You're to the bench. You're on the line. The game's too fast to waste time being verbal. But basketball's different, and Chris Paul broke Patrick Beverly last night. just physically, he broke him mentally. And we'll show the play where Patrick Beverly comes up and pushes him aggressively after this play. And Chris Paul, after the game, talked about the Patrick Beverly shove.

Over the years, you know, people talk junk to me. A lot of times I usually say something back, but I didn't change a little, a little, a little. And I just kept thinking, you know what I mean? If we do what we're supposed to do, I'll get the last laugh. You know what I mean? So you stayed the course long enough. You break them. And that's what we did.

Yeah. It was a tantrum. Nobody got hurt. There's a lot of Rodman to Patrick Beverly. I don't think it's a great look for the Clippers. When you're in a town with the Dodgers who have always sort of been elegant, the stadium's elegant, Vince Scully was elegant. The Dodgers are kind of an elegant franchise, a winning franchise.

The Lakers are always glamorous and sturdy. USC football has got seven national championships. The Clippers are, now the Rams, by the way, they have the most beautiful stadium, the richest or second richest owner. They're cool. Sean McVeigh, Matt Stafford. The Clippers are fighting an uphill battle for respect in Los Angeles, and that was kind of a chippy moment.

It just didn't look very good. Like, that's my defining moment of the Clippers. Kauai's not on the court. Say what you want about Kauai's not on the court. Pat Bev is shoving Chris Ball violently, pretty violently. I just thought it was a bad look. It's embarrassing. We like tough. We like gritty. You like a little chippiness. They like a little talkback. But nobody likes a cheap shot. Nobody respects that. Right. You have face to face with somebody and then you shove them. They can see it coming. That's different. We're running up on somebody's back pushing them. It's like he said. Like he can't say he didn't break him. He did. Chris Paul broke him physically and mentally in the building he once dominated yet never got the credit.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clivert Show on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast, podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I mean, it was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.